This was a bombshell in the GOP.
On Thursday, MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show” aired audio confirming the comments of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) about urging former President Trump to resign after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
In the leaked audio clip, which is part of the Times’s report regarding the incident, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is heard asking the House GOP leader about whether he thought Trump might resign and if there were any reasons to believe a resignation would happen.
Regarding the chances of Trump being impeached McCarthy said, “The only discussion I would have with him is that I think this will pass, and it would be my recommendation you should resign. I mean, that would be my take but I don’t think he would take it. But I don’t know.”
Before the audio was aired, McCarthy had denied ever making such a statement regarding the incident. The report is in the New York Times and is based on a forthcoming book by Alex Burns and Jonathan Martin, titled “This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden and the Battle for America’s Future.”
”The New York Times’ reporting on me is totally false and wrong,” McCarthy stated. “It comes as no surprise that the corporate media is obsessed with doing everything it can to further a liberal agenda. This promotional book tour is no different. If the reporters were interested in truth, why would they ask for comment after the book was printed?”
A spokesperson from McCarthy has defended him by saying, “McCarthy never said he’d call Trump to say he should resign.”
This development comes only months before a challenging midterm election in which the Republicans are hoping to gain back the House majority as well as the Senate majority.
